This database is a comprehensive collection of articles from Nihon bijutsu nenkan (Year Book of
Japanese Art), published by the Tokyo National Institute for Cultural Properties (Tobunken).
On July 19, the contemporary art festival ‘Setouchi International Art Triennale 2010’ opened (until October 31). It staged across seven islands in the Seto Inland Sea including Naoshima and Shōdoshima Islands, and the surrounding area of Takamatsu Port in Kagawa Prefecture serving as its home port. FUKUTAKE Sōichirō (Chairman, The Fukutake Foundation) served as General Producer, with KITAGAWA Fram (Art Director) as General Director. The festival featured the works of 75 artists from 18 countries and regions, alongside 16 events. Amidst a movement to utilize contemporary art for regional development, it garnered significant public attention as a newly launched international exhibition together with the Aichi Triennale 2010, recording a total attendance of approximately 940,000 visitors. Furthermore, preceding the art festival, the Lee Ufan Museum, operated by the Naoshima Fukutake Art Museum Foundation and designed by ANDŌ Tadao, opened on June 15 on Naoshima Island. (Japanese)
On March 24, the Agency of Cultural Affairs Review Committee for Preservation and Utilization of Mural Paintings of Tumuli (Chair: NAGAI Yorikuni, Adjunct Professor, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies), which had been investigating the causes of deterioration of the murals of Takamatsuzuka Tumuli, submitted its report to TAMAI Hideo, Commissioner of the Agency of Cultural Affairs. The report identified multiple factors, including natural causes, inadequate preservation measures, and a lack of monitoring systems by the Agency. It stated that delayed countermeasures following mold growth also led to a vicious cycle that further exacerbated the damage. (Japanese)
South Korean civic groips demanded the return of a five-story stone pagoda in the collection of the Okura Museum of Art in Minato Ward, Tokyo, marking the centenary of the Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty. On July 21, Mayor Cho Byeong-don of Icheon City, where the pagoda once stood, visited the museum to hand over a petition for its return and signatures from over 100,000 people. The pagoda is believed to date from the early Goryeo period. It was moved to Japan after the Japan-Korea Treaty of 1910 and was designated as a National Important Cultural Property in 1933. In response to the request, the museum stated that it could not comply with the request at this stage. (Japanese)
On March 28, the Hyatt Foundation announced that SEJIMA Kazuyo and NISHIZAWA Ryūe had been selected as its laureates of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, an annual award to honor outstanding architects, often referred to as the Nobel Prize of architecture. They were praised for their achievements in Japan, Europe, and the United States through their joint architectural firm, SANAA (Tokyo). The award citation recognized their collaborative work in realizing architecture that is powerful yet delicate, practiced, and utilized in accordance with its purpose. Major joint projects include the Kumanokodo Nakahechi Museum of Art (1996) and the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa (2004). Furthermore, SEJIMA Kazuyo served as director of architecture for the 12th Venice Biennale of Architecture, held from August to November in 2010. She was the first Japanese architect and the first woman in the history of the Venice Biennale of Architecture to hold this position. (Japanese)
On August 7, the exhibition titled ‘Hashimoto Heihachi and Kitasono Katsue: Unusual Pair of Brothers, a Sculptor and a Poet’ opened at the Mie Prefectural Art Museum (until October 11). For the first time, it brought together works by sculptor HASHIMOTO Heihachi (1987 – 1935) and his younger brother KITASONO Katsue (born HASHIMOTO Kenkichi, 1902 – 1978), who emerged as an avant-garde poet and pursued diverse activities spanning literature and art. This significant exhibition highlighted how the seemingly contrasting creative paths of Heihachi, who expressed the spiritual essence residing in natural objects like stone and wood through wood carving, and Katsue, who embraced Futurism, Dada, and Constructivism in his poetry and design, were rooted in their shared upbringing and era, as well as mutual exchange of ideas and dialogue. The exhibition subsequently toured to the Setagaya Art Museum (October 23 – December 12). (Japanese)
On March 24, the government budged for the fiscal year 2010 (Heisei 22) was passed. The budget for the Agency for Cultural Affairs was ¥102.024 billion, 0.5 % or ¥485 million more than the previous year. The budget is divided into three principal projects as follows: 1. creation and utilization of rich culture and arts and cultivation of human resources; 2. Preservation and utilization of Japan’s precious cultural properties; and 3. dissemination of Japan’s outstanding culture both domestically and internationally. In particular, for Project 1, funding increases were allocated to training artists and enhancing cultural experiences for children; for Project 2, ‘Act on Promotion of Seismic Retrofitting of Buildings’ was newly launched to carry out seismic retrofitting firefighting equipment installed over 30 years ago at national treasures and important cultural properties in the Kinki region; and for Project 3, a substantial budget increase was allocated for the strategic dissemination of outstanding state design and media arts. (Japanese)
On August 21, the art festival ‘Aichi Triennale 2010: Arts and Cities’ opened (until October 31), aiming to establish the Aichi region as a cultural and artistic contributor to Japan and the world. Multiple venues centered on Nagoya City served as exhibition sites, including the Aichi Arts Center, Nagoya City Art Museum, Chōjamachi Site, Nayabashi Site, Nagoya Castle, Oasis 21, and Chūō-Hirokōji Building. Based on the basic concept announced in March 2008, the following policies were decided in October of the same year: ‘Cutting-edge – Introducing contemporary art trends with a focus on fine art from an international perspective’; ‘Festivity – Creating a sense of exaltation as an urban festival’; and ‘Hybridity – Actively incorporating performing arts with contemporary art as the core’. Following three years of preparation with TAKEHATA Akira as Artistic Director, approximately 130 artists from around the world participated, creating a notable art festival where multiple artistic spaces were simultaneously generated throughout a single city. (Japanese)
The Domon Ken Award (sponsored by the Mainichi Newspapers Co.), an award for a photographer who has made excellent achievements in the previous year, announced that the 29th winner was SUZUKI Ryūichirō. The award was given for his photobook titled ‘RyUlysses’ (Heibonsha), which was recognized for its meticulous recreation of Dublin, Ireland, using a panoramic camera, inspired by James Joyce’s ‘Ulysses’. (Japanese)
On August 21, the exhibition titled ‘Tanaka Isson – Aratanaru zenbō’ opened at the Chiba Art Museum (until September 26). This was a retrospective exhibition of nihonga artist TANAKA Isson (1908 – 1977), who, though virtually unknown during his lifetime, was thrust into the limelight after his death when featured on a television program. It garnered significant attention as an initiative to re-examine and re-evaluate Isson’s artistic career. It focused on his early works and archival materials, moving beyond the tendency for his legacy to be defined primarily by his later works depicting the unique flora and fauna of the southern islands, created during his time residing on Amami Ōshima Island. The exhibition subsequently toured to the Kagoshima City Museum of Art (October 5 – November 7) and the Tanaka Isson Museum (November 14 – December 14). (Japanese)
